Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) double-dipped by putting on two events on the same day (May 31, 2014) with UFC Fight Night 41 going down in Berlin, Germany, exclusively on UFC Fight Pass; and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Brazil 3" going down in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Francis Carmont -- who suffered his second straight loss thanks to C.B. Dollaway (recap) -- and Fabio Maldonado -- who was knocked out by Stipe Miocic in under a minute in a heavyweight scrap at TUF: "Brazil 3" Finale (video).
But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover now 48 hours removed from an action-packed weekend?
Mark Munoz.
"The Filipino Wrecking Machine" looked to get back on the winning track by getting past Gegard Mousasi in a pivotal middleweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 41. Something that would help him avoid the dreaded "gatekeeper" label.
No such luck.
Munoz failed to get anything going in a fight that lasted a little less than four minutes, as Mousasi forced the wrestler to tap in the opening frame.
After imposing his wrestling skills early, landing a quick takedown, Munoz didn't do much with it, as Mousasi popped right back up to his feet. After stuffing another takedown, Mousasi managed to take the back of Munoz. It was all she wrote from there, as "The Dreamcatcher" sank in a rear-naked choke, forcing the tap (video).
The dominant victory helped Mousasi erase the pain of losing to Lyoto Machida in his previous bout. The loss for Munoz, however, was his second straight after also falling to "The Dragon" in his previous bout, dwindling his title hopes in a middleweight division that has plenty of top contenders ready to take the top spot.
The loss is a crucial one for the 36-year-old fighter, as it will likely knock him out of the top 10 rankings. And after going 1-3 in his last four bout, Munoz has a very tough ladder to climb if he ever wants to return to top contender status.
As he's proven in the past, Munoz has all the talent and all the skills in the world to make some noise inside the Octagon, but he also seems to have something holding him back from reaching his full potential. Whether it's his full plate outside of the Octagon or injuries, which may have been the case this past weekend in Germany, Munoz has to wipe the slate clean and find a way to get back to his glory days.
A fight against Lorenz Larkin, another struggling middleweight, would be a good test for Munoz in his next UFC fight to see just exactly how he, as well as Larkin, can bounce back after consecutive defeats.
A bout that will likely see both men fight with plenty of urgency, as a loss for either of them could be devastating for their UFC careers.